It looks like the Philippines is on its way to developing an exchange-traded funds market of its own. Just recently, the Philippine Stock Exchange submitted a revised list of proposed rules related to the listing and trading of ETFs to the country's Securities and Exchange Commission for final approval. The revisions were made in consultation with market participants.

One major change was making an initial public offering optional. In the original rules submitted, an IPO was required. The exchange also loosened ownership restrictions. An ETF denominated in Philippine pesos would have been required to have at least 25% of its total capitalization held by 250 security holders, but that rule has been set aside. The PSE also altered a rule that said an ETF must have at least 250 beneficial shareholders right from its listing date. In the new regulations, that number has been lowered to 200, with 250 beneficial shareholders only becoming a requirement after a full year of trading.

ETFs with primary listings in other markets would be approved if the rules around ETFs of their primary exchanges are acceptable to the PSE. Foreign-listed ETFs would have to have a minimum market capitalization of $10 million, while locally listed ETFs would have to have a minimum market cap of P250 million.

The PSE said it was eager to fast-track the introduction of ETFs, in part to encourage the further development of the Philippines' capital markets.

And it's no wonder they want to get going on ETFs—many of the other Asian countries surrounding the Philippines have already gotten their markets in gear and offer multiple ETFs. More developed markets like Japan, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong have 10 or more ETFs listed, with Japan the clear winner with 36 funds. Meanwhile, close neighbors Indonesia and Malaysia list one and three funds, respectively. And Thailand just listed its first fund late last year. Currently, the Philippines is the only emerging or developed market in Asia that does not have at least one ETF trading on its exchange - all the others that do not have one are classified as frontier markets.